New Hanover County LEPC Minutes 1.13.20211
New Hanover and Pender Counties
Meeting Minutes for January 13, 2021
11:00 Noon Virtual on TEAMS
List of Attendees:
Name Business Name Business
Adrienne Michalek
Pender Cnty Health
Dept John Stephenson WFD
Alan Pytcher NCDOT Joshua Schieffer Duke Energy
Allen Hancock NCDOT Kathy Stephens NCDOT
Billy Howard NHRMC EMS Kevin Cowan Seaside Safety
Brandon Sproles Acme Smoked Fish Kyle Earley Elementis
Carol Yates Corning Linda Willis NCDEQ DAQ
Dustin Stream ILM Fire Mark Venters GE
Elizabeth LaDow PHMSA Mike Thompson ARC
Elizabeth Meyer Invista Natosha Tew City of Wilmington
Ed Parvin Carolina Beach Quint Ocock HEPACO
Eric Griffin UNCW R. Stancil Sturdy Corporation
Eric Hatcher CFPUA Teresa Smith NHCEM
Heidi Cox NC DENR Tina Kuhr GE Hitachi
Jeff Suggs NHC Health Dept. Tommy Batson Pender Cnty EM
Jonathan Barfield NHC Commissioner 2 unidentified persons
on dial-in/listen only
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Welcome and Introductions:
Mark Venters started the meeting shortly after 11:00 AM. He introduced himself and welcomed the
group. He expressed Teresa Smith’s regrets at being unavailable to chair the meeting.
Review and Approval of Minutes:
Members were asked to review the last minutes of the meeting held on November 18, 2020. Two
corrections were provided. Tommy Batson moved to approve the minutes as corrected. Linda Willis
seconded the motion.
Membership Announcements:
UNCW students are returning to in person classes tomorrow. Expect higher traffic around campus.
COVID vaccinations are in process for Phase 1b Group 1 (anyone 75 years of age or older).
Presentation, Elizabeth “Liz” LaDow, HMSAT, Southern Region, US Dept. of Transportation,
Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration:
Ms. LaDow with the US DOT, Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) – Southern
Region located in Atlanta, Georgia, provided a Power Point presentation providing an overview of
PHMSA. There are two offices in PHMSA, the Office of Hazardous Material Safety (OHMS) and the Office
of Pipeline Safety (OPS). The Power Point presentation included topics such as:
PHMSA Mission
Office of Pipeline Safety
o Gas Transmission and Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Locations
o Regulated Pipeline Systems
o 49CFR Transportation
o Pipeline Emergency Responders Initiative (PERI)
o NC DOT NPMS (National Pipeline Mapping Sytem) Below is a link to the Public Viewer
https://pvnpms.phmsa.dot.gov/PublicViewer/
Office of Hazardous Material Safety
o Enforcement of the regulatory laws related to the safe transportation of hazardous
materials moved in commerce
o Provide grants to states and US territories in support of their hazardous materials safety
program. North Carolina Emergency Management manages grants for NC.
o ERG2020 Emergency Response Guidebook Phone App is Live
o DOT Chart 16 App – Hazardous Materials Markings, Labeling, and Placarding Guide is
Live. An update, DOT Chart 17, will be coming soon.
PHMSA is providing Webinars on topics specific to 49 CFR Parts 100 – 185. There are also online
training courses.
Liz also talked about the help she can offer during an emergency. She sent the slide deck to those
on the distribution for Teresa Smith’s January 12, 2021, email.
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Grant Information, Teresa Smith:
Commodity Flow Studies –Awarded to IEM. They are waiting on a contract to be signed.
New HMEP Award - $10,000 – Teresa submitted another application for FY 22. Teresa wants
to ramp up planning for complex tabletop exercise (Plans are for a 2021 tabletop exercise,
2022 functional exercise, and a 2023 full scale exercise).
Committee Updates:
1. Executive Committee is made up of Teresa Smith (Chair), Frank Meyer (Vice Chair), and
Tina Kuhr (Secretary)
2. Emergency Planning/Response – Tommy Batson and John Stephenson accepted the
appointment. Natosha Tew moved to accept the appointments, Kevin Cowan seconded.
3. Community Education/Public Awareness – Teresa had proposed Elizabeth Meyer (she
has not accepted yet), Linda Willis and Tina Kuhr. Teresa said that Kate Oelslager can be
a resource for this committee.
Open Forum:
There was no additional discussion. Kevin Cowan moved that the meeting be adjourned.
Commissioner Barfield second. The meeting was adjourned at 11:50 AM.
Next Meeting
March 10, 2021, at 11:00 AM on TEAMS